The Irish Brokers' Association (IBA) has decided to join the Insurance Ombudsman scheme.
This will result in intermediaries being brought within the scope of the scheme for the first time.
The Insurance Ombudsman, Ms Caroline Gill, welcomed the move by the brokers' industry body and said it would mean more consumer protection and a more inclusive scheme.
Up until now there was potential for conflict as the IBA also fulfilled a regulatory role, according to its chief executive, Mr Paul Carty. Now that these regulatory functions will be taken over by the soon-to-be-established Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, dissatisfied clients of IBA members will be able to complain to the office of the Insurance Ombudsman, with the possibility of getting an award.
"It is also something that we have been asking for and we look forward to offering the same level of service to broker clients within an expanded scheme," said Ms Gill.
The Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland Scheme was established in 1992 as a means of offering policy holders redress in cases of dispute with member insurance companies.
It provides a non-judicial method of resolving disputes through adjudication or settlement negotiation.
The move by the IBA is one of a range of measures it has introduced with the aim of establishing a "premiership in insurance distribution".
In response to the new regulatory regime for insurance intermediaries introduced by the Central Bank, the IBA has changed its rules to require all of its members to become authorised advisers.
Mr Paul Carty, chief executive of the IBA, said that under the new regulatory regime, only authorised advisers were in a position to provide broad-based financial advice regarding insurance and investment contracts.
Some 2,400 firms registered with the Central Bank before the June 30th deadline and 900 of these applied for authorised adviser status.
The IBA will also require all its members to hold professional indemnity insurance of not less than €1 million by the time they next renew their membership.
Compensation bonding, which the IBA requires its members to hold, will also rise from £100,000 (€127,000) to €200,000 with immediate effect.
This is on top of the compensation available from the Investor Compensation Company.
In addition, the association is committed to increasing the level of bonding to €250,000 from August 1st, 2002.
The measures, which have come into effect in recent weeks, apply to the broker group's 600 member firms.
